Improvement in douche baths



UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE;

1 MORRIS MATTSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOUCHE BATHs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,458, dated June 3, 1862,

' To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, MORRIS MATTsON, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of t Massachusetts, have invented a Changeable Spray 0r Douche Bath, of which the following 'the bath should be completely under control.

This is particularly requisite when administering spray or douche baths, which are general] y applied for the" purpose of rousing and increasing the action of the skin and .stimulating the smaller blood-vessels at or near the surface. The degree of cold which may thus be applied with safety and comfort to kone patient will give a shock which may be not only disagreeable, but dangerous, to another. For'this reason it is frequently desirable to commence the spray or douche bath at a moderately warm temperature and gradually lower the temperature. The bath may thus be more safely applied at a lower degree and a better reaction be produced, increasing its curative effects; or warm and cold sprays or douches may be made to alternate one with the other.

The object of my present invention is to produce a bath of this description which may be easily regulated and which will be entirely under control as'regards the temperature at which it is appliedto the patient; and my invention consists of a bath in which two or `more tanks or reservoirs for containing water of different temperatures are employed, the outlets from which unite in one delivery-pipe and are commanded by a suitable cock or cocks, by which the temperature of the water delivered to the bather may be readily and nicely adjusted.

That others skilled in the art may understand and usemy invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawing, A and B are two tanks, the water in each of which is maintained at the required temperature by drawing into them from hotand cold water faucets or other convenient method. On a platform, C, over these tanks is placed a force-pump, D. (I prefer one which will throw a steady stream.) To the suction-pipe c of this pump is connected a pipe, a, from the tank, A, and another, b, from the tank B, each of which is of the same diameter as the pipe c. A hose, d, is attached to th'e nozzle of the pump, so that the attendant while pumping may direct the stream upon the patient. (When a spray is required, a rose is attached to the end of the hose.) A cockoperated by a lever, e, commands the pipe a, and another one operated by a lever, f, commands the pipe b. Graduated scales to which these levers point indicate the positions of the cocks, the marks on the scales being so arranged that when one cock is entirely open the other shall be closed. The capacity of the suction-pipeof the pump and of the pipes from each tank being the same, the portion of water delivered t-o the pump from each tank may be varied, and yet the pump will always receive a sufficient su p ply. For example, the cock of the pipe a may be open one-quarter and the cock of the pipe b may be opened three-quarters. 'For the convenience of the attendant the levers e and f may be connected by a rod, so that they may be moved simultaneously; Vor a single three-way cock may be placed at the intersection of the three pipes a, b, and c, when the movement of a single lever would regulate the temperature of the water delivered by thel pump, the water from the two tanks being mingled in the desired proportions, a scale showing the proper position at which to place the lever.

I `have described above one way of carrying out my invention; but as other methods may be employod I do not wish to confine myself to the use of the force-pump D and hose dfor throwing the water upon the patient. For example, where the tanks or reservoirs can be so placed as to give a sufficient head of water at the delivery-pipe, it will only be necessary to adjust the cock or cocks which regulate the ow of water from each reservoir into the delivery-pipe, and the same arrangement of pipes and cocks may be adopted when one of them is connected with the street-main (in cities) and the other proceeds from a boiler or heater.

What I claim as my invent0n,and desire tostautially in the manner specified, for thc pn 1*- secure by Letters Patent, ispose specicd.

A bath apparatus consisting, essentially, of y y two o1' more tanks or reservoirs containing MORRIS MATTSON' Water of different temperatures, the outlets Vit-nesses: from which unite in one delivery-pipe aud'me SAM COOPER, commanded by a suit-able cock or cocks, sub- P. E. TESCHEMACHER 

